The present invention relates to increasing the utility of shoulder-carried bags and luggage by use of an auxiliary attachment or bag that attaches to the strap-attachment points of the shoulder-carried bag or luggage.
Shoulder-carried bags and luggage (hereinafter referred to as “bags”) are commonly used by travelers and are also used by business persons as laptop carriers and briefcases. In use, these bags are supported at the side of a user by a strap that drapes over the user's shoulder (i.e., a shoulder strap). As such, the bags will typically rest against the user's hip or waist. If the bags are overstuffed, the sides will often bow outwards, moving the center of gravity further from the user, thus transmitting forces through the strap that tend to pull the strap off of the user's shoulder, which makes the bag uncomfortably difficult to carry. Additionally, the bowed sides can cause the bag to twist and bounce off of the user while they walk.
To avoid some of these problems caused by overstuffing, some shoulder bags will limit the expansion ability of the bag to keep the sides from bowing outwardly. While it solves some of the problems caused by overstuffing, the user is limited to the existing capacity of the bag and must carry other items in some other manner.
Various attempts have been made to address these problems in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,713 to Lee for a “Travel Bag” discloses the use of upper hook-and-loop fasteners and lowers straps with snap fasteners to attach add-on bags to a shoulder bag. The specific nature of the attachments limits the system to use of the add-on bag with the corresponding shoulder bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,869 to Saltzman et al. for a “Main Carrying Bag with Detachable Secondary Bag” discloses a system wherein a secondary bag is zippered to a main bag. Again, the specific nature of the attachments limits the system to use of the secondary bag with the corresponding main bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,230,771 to Hellenbrand for a “Modular Carry-All Assembly” discloses a secondary bag strapped to a primary bag, with both bags having shoulder straps.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 500,590 to Sachen for a “Diaper Bag/Backpack with Removable Shoulder Bag” discloses a main pack that allows a purse or similar pouch to be clipped onto a mid/lower portion.
What would be useful is an auxiliary attachment or bag with an elastic attachment system that can be attached to virtually any shoulder bag and which provides additional means for carrying articles.